A Lunch in the Park
by hippiegeek
Summary: Diana POV set shortly after season two's Life Interrupted. I do not own these characters


A Lunch in the Park

Diana Skouris was sitting at her desk at NTAC doing paperwork and worrying about her partner, Tom Baldwin. He had been different lately and Diana couldn't figure out why. She was going over the differences in the back of her mind when her partner walked in and sat down at his desk to work on the mountain of paperwork they had. They worked for about on hour in silence; for once Tom didn't grumble about the paperwork. Another thing to ponder Diana was thinking when Tom looked up at the clock.

"Did you bring your lunch today?" he asked casually.

"No, why?"

"I thought we could go to the park for lunch. Get a couple of hot dogs and some fresh air. My treat."

"OK, that sounds nice; especially if you're paying." Diana forced her voice to sound light, but inside she was filled with dread. Hot dogs at Kobe Park meant that Tom needed to tell her something away from the office. In the two years that they had worked together, that something had never been good.

"So around noon?" Tom asked.

"Just let me know when you're ready"

Noon came and Diana and Tom made the short walk to Kobe Park. As they were walking, Diana mulled over the changes in Tom that she had noticed over the past week or so. It had begun when Diana was working on medical reports. She had asked Tom for the file on Maia's friend from quarantine, Alana Mareva. Diana had to ask Tom for a second time because he had zoned out. When Tom heard Diana's question he reacted bizarrely. He got out of his chair in an agitated fashion, and then questioned if the 4400 and the ball of light had actually happened. Then, most bizarre of all Tom had kissed Diana on the forehead when she assured him that it had, before he headed towards the elevators. If it had been anyone else, Diana would have immediately called the shrinks, but Tom was one of the most stable people she knew, so she had waited to see how he acted when he returned. Tom had disappeared for a couple of hours after that. When he returned, he seemed fine.

Now looking back, there had been something different about Tom when he returned. He seemed a bit calmer, more at peace with things. It was subtle. He hadn't suddenly gone all hippie-dippy or anything, but the change was definitely there. He seemed happy. But it wasn't just attitude, there were other things too. Tom had always come into work earlier than required and stayed late. Now he was going home on time if he could, and Diana had beat him in to work three times this week. The few times that they had had to work late, Tom had called to let Kyle know when he would be home. Something Tom had never done. Diana had also seen Tom eat a salad for lunch yesterday. Taken by itself, Diana wouldn't have thought anything about it, but combined with the other changes, she felt she had to add it into the equation. Plus Tom had been different with her as well. Diana and Tom's relationship hadn't always been smooth, but they had gotten past the really rocky issues that they had had at the beginning of their partnership. Yet Diana knew that she trusted Tom more than Tom trusted her. Tom still had remnants of his emotional walls up when he was around her. But for all that Diana and Tom were friends as well as partners. Now the walls had vanished. It had happened too suddenly for Diana not to notice and be wary about this and the other changes.

They had reached the park and Tom had bought hot dogs and sodas. As they ate Diana began to get nervous. Tom noticed and decided to break the ice.

"Another new ability has popped up" he began.

"Really? When?" Diana asked.

"Last week." Tom replied.

Diana's warning bells went off. "So what was it? Anything interesting?"

"Creating an alternate reality I guess you would call it."

"Someone can creat  
e alternate realities? That is definitely an interesting ability, but you have to wonder how that is going to help save the future."

"Well part of the alternate reality had a bit of an explanation. Apparently something is going to happen to the person the reality was created for. The future wanted him to have someone to help get them through the crisis. So they put this person in a world with a 4400 that the future thought would be able to help this person through their crisis."

"And how long were these people in this alternate reality?" Diana asked.

"They were in the other place eight years, but in real time it was only a few seconds."

"Oh. Only a few seconds in real time, but a long time in the other place?" Diana was becoming skeptical. "Why exactly did the future keep these two people in this other dimension for so long?"

"So they would, you know, get to know…depend on each other…bond." Tom said beginning to get uncomfortable.

"Bond?" Diana laughed, relaxing as she realized that this lunch was just a lunch and nothing to worry about. "You make it sound like these two people fell in love or something. I didn't know these future beings were in the yenta business. So let me make sure I'm following you. A 4400 gets the ability to create an alternate universe. This person takes him or herself and someone the future apparently thinks is important, but is in fact too pathetic to get their own dates to this universe for some sort of psychic hookup so this 'important person' can have support to get them through some impending doom. Is that right?"

"Yeah." Tom said not looking Diana in the eye.

"You know, Tom I think someone is having a little fun with you. So just for fun, who was this schmuck that the future found girlfriend? boyfriend? for?"

"Girlfriend" Tom said squinting at the sky looking sheepish. "And the 'schmuck'… would be me"

"Oh really. You." Now Diana was annoyed. "Let me guess. You thought you would have a little fun at my expense. You act a little different, not a lot, but just enough so that I start wondering what is going on with you; even start to worry a little. Then when you see it is getting to me you drop this on me. Ha, ha Tom you're really funny. And which 4400 did the future pair you up with h'mmm?"

"Me," said a voice behind them. Diana saw Tom's face light up as they turned to see Alana Mareva approaching them. She walked up to Tom and gave him a quick kiss. "You were right Thomas. She didn't believe you. I figured you might be so I thought I would stop by to help you convince her."

"How did you know where we were having lunch?" Tom asked.

"Thomas you always take Diana to Kobe Park for hot dogs to tell her the really bad, or in this case, weird stuff. By the way how many have you had? Two? Three?"

"Three."

"Which means four" Alana sighed. "Or did he get chili dogs?" she asked Diana

"He got chili dogs." Diana said. She stood looking at Tom and Alana in disbelief. They were standing together looking for all the world like a couple. Tom's reaction to the sound of Alana's voice, the easy intimacy that they had with each other you couldn't fake that. It also might explain the changes in Tom. The future had really helped Tom find happiness. Diana wondered if the future beings somehow knew that Tom and Alana would work or if all the women that were taken to the future had been given this ability and if that ability would be deactivated somehow now that Tom and Alana had fallen in love. Diana was happy for Tom and Alana both. Diana knew Alana a little because Maia liked her so much in quarantine. Maia always wanted to go into Alana's gallery when they were in the area. The three of them had even had lunch a few times. She liked Alana, and her friend was happy. Diana wasn't going to question it any further.

"So this crisis that is headed your way, what is it?" Diana asked.

Tom and Alana both smiled as they realized that Diana believed them.

"Like they would tell me that." Tom said.


End file.
